A Texas inmate, Brent Ray Brewer, is facing execution for the murder of Robert Laminack more than 33 years ago. Brewer was sentenced to death in 1991 for fatally stabbing Laminack during a robbery in April 1990. However, his attorneys have argued that false and unscientific expert testimony played a role in his death sentence. They have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals dismissed the appeal without reviewing the merits of the argument.

During Brewer's resentencing trial in 2009, prosecutors relied on the testimony of expert Richard Coons, who claimed that Brewer would be a future danger, a necessary legal finding for imposing a death sentence. Brewer's lawyers allege that Coons lied and provided false testimony without any scientific basis. They are deeply disturbed by the appeals court's refusal to address the injustice of allowing Brewer to be executed without the opportunity to challenge Coons' testimony.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles also voted against commuting Brewer's death sentence or granting a six-month reprieve. Brewer, who was 19 years old at the time of the murder, claims to have been a model prisoner with no history of violence. He has participated in a faith-based program for death row inmates and expressed remorse for his actions, stating a desire to apologize to Laminack's family.

Laminack's son, Robert Laminack Jr., has chosen not to comment on the scheduled execution. The murder had a significant impact on the family, as Robert Laminack Jr. took over his father's business, which had been started in 1950, and continues to run it with other family members.

Brewer's case had previously been overturned in 2007 by the U.S. Supreme Court along with the death sentences of two other Texas inmates. The court ruled that the juries in their cases did not have proper instructions when deciding the death penalty. Factors such as Brewer's history of abuse as a child and mental illness were not considered by the jurors.

Prosecutors, however, have denied presenting false testimony and argued that Coons' testimony about future dangerousness was not material to the jury's verdict. Last week, one of the jurors from Brewer's resentencing trial, Michele Douglas, revealed in an op-ed that a misleading instruction led her to mistakenly vote for execution when she believed a life sentence would have been appropriate.

Despite the controversy surrounding Brewer's case, the execution is still scheduled to proceed. If carried out, Brewer would be the seventh inmate in Texas and the 21st in the United States to be executed this year.